The severe health conditions associated with chronic HCV infection remain a global concern. The most effective therapy at present for HCV is the combination therapy of PEGylated interferon (IFN) γ (PEG-IFNγ) and ribavirin. This combination therapy involves multiple doses of PEG-IFNγ and ribavirin, and takes more than 48 weeks for completion; however, the success rate is only around 50%. In addition, the cost of IFNγ combination therapy is high, efficiency is low and the therapy has serious side effects including fever and hemolytic anemia. Various polymerase inhibitors demonstrated significant anti-HCV efficacy against the different sub-types but associated with serious adverse effects and excessive cost. Therefore, there is an urgent need for targeted antiviral agents for the treatment of HCV infection.
It is estimated that over 300 million people (1) are infected with Hepatitis C virus (HCV) worldwide. Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean region have the highest documented infection rates, and Egypt has the highest infection rate for a single country in the world. In the United States, an estimated 4.1 million people are infected with HCV, representing approximately 1.8% of the population) (2). Of these 4.1 million HCV-infected individuals, approximately 3.2 million have chronic Hepatitis C infection, and can therefore potentially spread HCV to others. Because of the low survival rate (˜50%) (3) of individuals with Hepatitis C and the high cost of treatment, Hepatitis C continues to be one of the most dangerous diseases in the world. It is therefore imperative to develop a novel, safe and effective formulation for the treatment of this disease that can quickly move into the clinical phase.